Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Death: "Politicians In My Eyes" (Demo)

Here's some info on a documentary about the proto-punk Detroit rock band, Death. You can also download an unreleased demo of their song, "Politicians in My Eyes." All info comes courtesy of Enabler Agency.

DRAFTHOUSE FILMS TO RELEASE A BAND CALLED DEATHOFFICIAL SELECTION FOR SXSW 2013 DOCUMENTARY FILM HEAR AN UNRELEASED DEMO OF "POLITICIANS IN MY EYES"ROUGH FRANCIS SET TO PLAY SXSW

Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, announced today the acquisition of North American rights to Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino’s riveting rockumentary A Band Called Death, which is set to screen at this year’s SXSW Film Festival in the “24 Beats Per Second” film category. The film chronicles rebirth and rise to cult stardom of early-’70s African-American “proto-punk” trio Death, following a new generation’s discovery of a virtually unheard demo tape more than 30 years later. A theatrical and VOD release for A Band Called Death is scheduled for this summer. Joining A Band Called Death at SXSW, will be the Hackney's children's band, Rough Francis; rock'n'roll truly runs deep in this family. Rough Francis is comprised of Bobby Hackney's 3 sons, Urian, Julian & Bobby Jr., along with Dylan Giambatista & Steven Williams. The band boasts anthemic punk rock songs, like their father & uncles made in the 70's. Although it may seem unfair to compare the Hackney children to their family, Rough Francis has provided the missing link to finding new fans & telling Death's story. Rough Francis has toured with Mos Def, OFF! & will be making their SXSW debut this year. They recently self-released a new album, Maximum Soul Power. About A Band Called DeathBefore Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in 1971 by three teenage brothers in Detroit, Michigan, the African-American group is widely acknowledged as being one of the first punk bands. After years of struggling with canceled contracts, increasing debts, inner family tragedy, and a controversial name that barred them from future success, Death sold off their instruments and disbanded with their recordings laying dormant in an attic for decades. After years of silence, Death’s moment finally arrived following unexpected demand from rabid internet fans and record collectors which ushered renowned appreciation and a swarm of national media attention that has now secured their place in the annals of rock history. Detroit-born Jack White of The White Stripes said in the New York Times : “the first time the stereo played [Death] I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. When I was told the history of the band and what year they recorded this music, it just didn’t make sense. Ahead of punk, and ahead of their time.” Following its world premiere at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival, A Band Called Death has received critical acclaim for its compelling music story as well as an unexpectedly emotional chronicle of familial camaraderie. Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter said the film is “a moving testament to the enduring power of family ties and groundbreaking music.” And for TwitchFilm, A Band Called Death is “one of the best music documentaries to come out in years.”
“Howlett and Covino’s film rewrites punk history and also transforms a better-than-fiction music story into a moving, emotional story,” says Drafthouse Films Creative Director Evan Hunsey, “and we are thrilled to be introducing the legacy of Death to audiences around the country.”
“I attended my first screening at the original Alamo Drafthouse more than ten years ago and am very excited all these years later to be working with Drafthouse Films” states producer Matthew Perniciaro “Their passion for this film has been apparent since day one and we couldn’t be working with a better partner to get Death’s story out into the world.”
A Band Called Death is a Haven Entertainment and OGB, Inc. production, in association with Howlermano Productions. The film is produced by Matthew Perniciaro and Kevin Mann of Haven (More Than A Game, Fanboys), Scott Mosier of OGB (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma) and Jerry Ferrara (Entourage, Think Like A Man). The deal was negotiated by James Emanuel Shapiro on behalf of Drafthouse Films and Linzee Troubh of Cinetic Media on behalf of the film’s producers. About Jeff Howlett, Director Director/Producer Jeff Howlett established Howlermano Productions LLC and partnered with Haven Entertainment to direct his first feature film with fellow Director/Producer Mark Covino. Jeff being a musician and filmmaker, started making music in Vermont in early 1993 with the band Five Seconds Expired and later started Non Compos in 1998 as a lead vocalist and song writer. Both bands experienced local and national recognition including international press in Modern Drummer, Metal Maniacs and College Music Journal. Throughout his musical career Jeff's interest in photography and video production gained momentum while attending film school in Burlington in the fall of 2007. Jeff met fellow filmmaker Mark Covino in the fall of 2008 in Burlington and in early 2009 coerced him into partnering up and started production on a feature documentary that would later be titled A Band Called Death. About Mark Covino, Director Originally from Queens, NY Mark fell in love with film at an early age. By the time he was a student at Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services (B.O.C.E.S.), he was honing the skills he would need to make the leap from High School student to filmmaker, which he did when he left his home state of NY to work on a feature film being shot in Vermont. It was in Vermont where Mark continued to pursue his passion of filmmaking, attending Burlington College and earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Cinema Studies and Film production in 2006. While Mark was working towards his undergraduate degree, he became heavily active in the VT filmmaking community working on productions such as Unless a Death Occurs: Hazing Examined for PBS, Rally-Nation (a pilot optioned for ESPN 2), as well as the highly acclaimed Black Panther documentary What We Want, What We Believe to name a few. In early 2009, because of Mark’s active role in the local film community fellow VT Filmmaker Jeff Howlett approached him with an idea for a documentary and through their collaboration A Band Called Death was born. About Drafthouse Films Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, is a curated brand of provocative, visionary and artfully unusual films new and old from around the world. Following the earnestly simple motto of “sharing the films we love with widest audience possible,” Drafthouse Films debuted in 2010 with the theatrical release of Four Lions which was named of Time Magazine’s “Top 10 Films Of The Year.” The 2012 release slate includes the acclaimed Best Foreign Language Oscar®) Bullhead, the internationally celebrated Danish comedy Klown (currently slated for a Warner Bros/Todd Phillips produced US remake), Quentin Dupieux’s Sundance 2012 favorite Wrong, the 40th anniversary restoration of landmark Australian thriller Wake In Fright, the highly-anticipated Werner Herzog/Errol Morris produced documentary The Act Of Killing, and together with producing partners Magnolia Pictures and Timpson Films, the highly acclaimed anthology horror film The ABC’s Of Death featuring 26 different directors that Fangoria calls, “a stunning roll call of some of the most exciting names in horror across the world.” Drafthouse Films distributes films theatrically, through home video, VOD and their direct-to-consumer platforms integrating into the ever-growing Alamo Drafthouse entertainment lifestyle brand, which along with the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas includes: Mondo, the collectible art boutique; Fantastic Fest, the largest international genre film festival in the US; and the pop culture website Badass Digest. About Haven Entertainment Founded in 2012 by Mauricio Betancur, Kevin Mann, Matthew Perniciaro, Jesse Hara and Rachel Miller, Haven Entertainment is a production and management company based in Los Angeles. The multi-faceted company produces feature films, documentaries, television and digital content and was formed by merging Perniciaro and Mann’s previous venture Picture Machine and Hara and Miller’s Tom Sawyer Entertainment. Collectively, the principals at Haven have produced the award winning documentary More Than A Game featuring NBA superstar LeBron James, The Cold Light of Day starring Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver, Sundance 2010 Audience Award winning film Happythankyoumoreplease from director Josh Radnor, Fanboys which was released by The Weinstein Company, festival favorite What We Do Is Secret, a biopic on Darby Crash and The Germs, and Radnor’s Liberal Arts, which premiered in the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and was released by IFC.For more information on A Band Called Death and Drafthouse Films: http://drafthousefilms.comhttp://twitter.com/drafthousefilmshttp://facebook.com/drafthousefilms